Hi, I'm Mary
(she/her)
I am a DONA-trained prenatal and birth doula serving Chicago and the northern suburbs. I'm based in the Uptown neighborhood, where I live with my husband and my dog, Mindo. My background is in elementary education and nonprofit work and my passion is birth work.
I've been interested in pregnancy and birth for as long as I can remember. When I was 10 years old, my aunt invited me to attend the home birth of her second son. I remember being absolutely amazed by the incredible power of her body and by the calm presence of the women who supported her. Years later, I began to feel truly called to birth work when I learned about the role doulas can play in supporting birthing people and helping them experience a birth that empowers them and makes them feel seen and heard.
I was moved to take the steps to pursue doula training once and for all when I began to learn more about the massive inequities and disparities that exist in our maternal health care and the maternal and fetal mortality rates for Black and Brown women. This inequity is systemic and must be addressed on both local and national levels. In addition to working with private clients on a sliding scale fee basis, I am an active volunteer doula with Chicago Volunteer Doulas, a fantastic Black woman-led nonprofit organization that provides free or low-cost doula care to birthing people from vulnerable communities.
I believe it is an immense honor and privilege to be invited into the birthing space and take very seriously my responsibility to respect and support birthing people and their partners. At every birth I attend, I ask myself "how will they remember this day?" It is my goal to help ensure that every person I work with has an empowered and positive experience. I keep that goal front of mind as I provide emotional support and encouragement, physical comfort measures, and informational support and resources, and hold space for birthing people to advocate for themselves.
I would love to connect with you by phone or video call to get to know you and learn about your vision and goals for your birth, and to share more about myself and how I can support you.
Please fill out the form below and I will be in touch shortly!